Webnames.ca: Helping Canadian Businesses Create, Protect, and Promote Their Online Presence for Nearly Two Decades

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By: Sean GarrityPosted: September 21, 2017

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TL; DR: Since 2000, Webnames.ca has been helping Canadian businesses — large and small — build and broadcast their brands online through robust hosting, domain, email, web-building, and design solutions. The company claims a unique space in the Canadian tech landscape, as one of its founding parters also conceived of the .CA country code — an extension 71% of Canadians prefer using. Modern online organizations require an array of solutions to develop presence and secure audiences online, and Webnames.ca delivers a one-stop-shop environment where they can turn to scale reach and grow revenue. With a team hyper-focused on providing hands-on, personalized support, the company is sure to help lay the web foundations of emerging businesses and continue expanding the reach of established enterprises.

Canadian entrepreneur and volunteer Christine Trischuk wanted to build a web presence that reflected both her professional life as a businesswoman and her passion to give back to her community through charitable efforts. In her view, the poorly designed, ad-based sites commonly encountered on the web just weren’t up to the task.

She wanted a space online that was attractive to clients in her professional life but also showcased her personal values and dedication to altruism. And Webnames.ca provided the perfect answer.

“I wanted to work with a company that was local and cared about its customers and meeting their needs,” she said. “ I originally started a website with Webnames.ca under its Web Builder platform, and after a year, we made the decision to have it upgraded to a WordPress format. I couldn’t be happier with the results.”

According to Christine, there were many contributors to the success of her site. However, the turnkey service provided by Webnames.ca’s domain registration, website building, hosting, and stellar customer support topped the list. As a result, Christine’s site has had a major impact on her professional image, bringing her more revenue and putting her in front of a larger audience.

For nearly two decades, Webnames.ca has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, like Christine, small businesses, and enterprise-level organizations build an online presence. As one of the first and largest domain registrars in Canada, Webnames is a primary source of domains for Canadian companies and business people, and the company takes pride in its Canadian heritage. Since its beginning, the founding ethos of the company has always been highly customer-centric, which is still apparent today.

“We’ve always had principles of volunteerism and giving back to the community,” said Julianna Horvat, Marketing Manager at Webnames.ca. “Even though we are a for-profit business, we do continue to make a lot of decisions based on these principles of integrity and doing what’s right for our clients.”

Built From the Most Recognized Symbol of Canadian Identity on the Web

Canada’s primary domain name extension — .CA — was created by one of Webnames.ca’s Co-Founders.

“Before we became a hosting company — which was early on in our history — John Demco ran the original .CA domain registry on a voluntary basis out of the University of British Columbia,” Julianna said.

In 1987, John reserved the .CA domain, predating the World Wide Web by several years, and managed the registration of over 100,000 of these domains over the following 13 years. Today, more than 2.5 million .CA domains are currently registered, with a good proportion of them being managed by Webnames.ca.

Eventually, in 2000, CIRA (The Canadian Internet Registration Authority) was formed.

“The .CA TLD was spun off into a for-profit business,” Julianna said. “Webnames.ca was one of its first accredited registrars.”

Webnames.ca was officially incorporated in 2000 and now helps manage many of Canada’s top brands and global Fortune 500 companies, including Loblaws, Yellow Pages, Canadian Tire, BMW, and McDonald’s, by taking a personal approach to service.

Each domain comes with free technical support and services, including email forwarding and parking, and Webnames.ca’s customer service department boasts 30-second response times to inbound calls. By providing webmasters with all the tools they need to succeed, Webnames.ca seeks to make a positive impact on Canadian society by also sponsoring both businesses and nonprofits.

Domains, Design, and Hosting Under One Roof for Businesses to Succeed

To best serve its customers, Webnames.ca keeps all of its solutions under one roof. All hosting plans include a domain name, unlimited bandwidth and storage, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and support for numerous email accounts.

Webmasters are provided a user-friendly control panel that employs one-click install scripts for WordPress and other applications. Webnames.ca also offers domain portfolio management, SSL certificates, and corporate services such as trademark protection.

“There is intrinsically a benefit to any customer having everything under one roof,” said Garrett Saundry, Webnames.ca’s Hosting Product Manager. “When everything’s together, you’ve got full integration, consolidated building, and accountability.”

Webnames.ca’s combination of solutions is specifically designed to work together, thus simplifying the customer experience. By providing an all-in-one solution, Webnames.ca becomes a valuable asset in any Canadian’s online business presence.

“If and when there are problems, it’s one phone call to make,” Garrett said. “On the service side, it’s not a huge team, but everyone here is well-tenured and well-empowered to help customers and actually fix problems.”

A Tight-Knit Team Dedicated to Being an Ally to Its Customers

The tight integration of Webnames.ca’s services makes troubleshooting easier for the company and its clients. Furthermore, Webnames.ca’s company culture has helped retain longevity for both employees and clients.

According to Garrett, a considerable number of Webnames.ca’s employees have been with the company for the majority of its run. Many of the original members are still part of the team, and nearly half of all employees have been with Webnames.ca for over five years. Garrett noted that Co-Founder John Demco is still with the company, and Webnames.ca hasn’t changed hands since its incorporation in 2000. Cybele Negris, Webnames CEO and President, has also been with company since the very beginning, nurturing its growth, employees and positive reputation into what it is today.

The tight-knit, family-like approach to running a business extends from Webnames.ca’s employees to its customer base. The Webnames.ca team treats client businesses as family members, following up with existing clients and checking in on new customers to encourage open communication.

The Webnames.ca team is all about ensuring its clients are successful in their online business ventures.

“We have a saying that you never really leave Webnames.ca,” Garrett said, “whether you’re an employee or a customer.”

The team’s dedication is reflected in the company’s business ethic, which is apparent in the way it treats clients. Email and phone communication are lightning fast and reliable, with the average phone waiting times coming in at under 60 seconds.

The Webnames.ca team tailors support and solutions to client problems because it is well-versed in the technology of the very products clients use.

The Future: Integrations With Plesk and Enhanced Hosting Packages

To provide clients with even more tools for online business success, Webnames.ca has recently partnered with prominent hosting platform Plesk. Garrett told us there is a lot to look forward to on the horizon.

“We’ve recently become a Plesk partner, so that’s opened up all sorts of opportunities for us to work with additional integrations,” he said. “We will also be integrating CloudFlare. We want to do everything in-house and bundled in.”

One-click CloudFlare protection provides an extremely simple way to help secure company sites from DDoS and other attacks caused by bad traffic requests.

Plesk offers its own proprietary Web Business Builder (WBB), a tool not commonly offered to or by hosts. Webnames.ca would thus become one of few providers offering this unique business tool that features built-in eCommerce solutions, FTP, and mobile-ready templates, among other features. WBB grants businesses full control over their online presence, including site content, branding, and customer relationship management. With yet another solution to add to its pool, Webnames.ca offers extensive variety for a reasonable price.

Formed from strong leadership and an innovative spirit, Webnames.ca continues its path to equipping organizations for online success. Originally formed as a free way for clients to dip their toes into the online world, Webnames.ca continues to offer affordable solutions to SMBs and startups. And the company’s success is not only due to its robust hosting solutions. It’s also a result of its excellent customer service, which ensures a high level of client satisfaction.

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About the Author

Sean Garrity

Sean Garrity is a Managing Editor at HostingAdvice with more than 10 years of experience researching, writing, and editing for numerous industry-specific trade publications. At HostingAdvice, Sean is charged with orchestrating the site’s content production, overseeing a team of writers, and ensuring the quality of feature and how-to articles. His goal is to keep organizations and entrepreneurs informed on the latest trends and technologies that can help them streamline operations and thrive online. When he isn’t wrapped up in discussions with experts, you can find Sean in front of his monitor, looking for what’s coming next in the fast-changing tech landscape.

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